An Unexpected Turn in the Evangelical Culture Wars

On Wednesday, in Indianapolis, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant body in the United States, rejected a proposed ban on allowing women to be called “pastor.” The measure, which would have amended the S.B.C.’s constitution, fell just short of a two-thirds-majority vote. The S.B.C. has officially barred women from leading churches since 2000. Yet this ban would have gone further, threatening to “disfellowship” churches that allow women to use the title of pastor in any way. I called Rick Warren, the founder of Saddleback Church, in Southern California, and one of the most influential evangelical pastors, shortly after the vote with the news. “That’s a relief for over two thousand S.B.C. churches who have women pastors, whether they lead churches or not,” Warren told me.